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MY WEEKLY UPDATE
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Dear John,
I am deeply concerned for the people of Ukraine. In 2022, humanitarian
partners aimed to assist 1.8 million people in Ukraine. Now, the Russian
invasion has put the country at risk of a displacement crisis and a dire
humanitarian situation becoming far worse.
Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine is an unprovoked, unjustifiable
outrage and a heinous violation of international law that will have tragic
consequences. The Labour Party and I stand with our allies and partners in
condemning it in the strongest possible terms. It is imperative that we
maintain our unity and resolve.
The hardest possible sanctions must be taken against all those linked to
Putin and against the Russian government’s interests, working in a
coordinated way with our allies to ensure the Putin regime faces the
severest possible consequences. This includes:
1) A full package of sanctions
2) Excluding Russia from financial mechanisms like Swift
3) Putin’s campaign of misinformation must be tackled including a review
by Ofcom of Russia Today
4) Stopping foreign influence in deciding who sits in our government
After more than a decade of inaction, the influence of corrupt Russian
money must now be extricated from the UK. The government must now bring
forward the urgent measures that Labour have repeatedly called for.
The Prime Minister promised that in the event of an invasion he would
unveil a full package of sanctions. A sovereign nation has now been
invaded. I stand firmly behind Keir Starmer in calling on Boris Johnson to
act and support the people of the Ukraine.
On Thursday, Keir Starmer spoke in a televised address to the nation
stating that in the face of Russian aggression, our political parties here
in the UK must be united and that is a sentiment I fully support.
WATCH THE FULL BROADCAST HERE
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WE MUST SEE REFORM FOR EXEMPT ACCOMMODATION
On Wednesday, I spoke in the House of Commons Opposition Day debate on the
urgent need for reform in the exempt accommodation sector.
In the last five years the exempt sector has overwhelmed Birmingham’s
housing stock and now provides over 21,000 units with support to some of
the most vulnerable people.
Current regulation is extremely limited which is allowing too many bad
landlords to get into this sector for the wrong reasons, exploiting a toxic
cocktail of relaxed regulation, a Conservative housing crisis and an
epidemic of unmet need after years of council cuts.
In my speech, I explained how, thanks to the joint efforts of local
residents, the Police, Birmingham City Council and I, we were able to
collect sufficient evidence to see the closure of Saif Lodge – the first
order of this type in the country. However, I also warned the Government
that under current legislation, there was nothing to stop this provider
from simply opening a similar property in the neighbouring constituency of
Ladywood.
For too long their excuse has been that they don’t have the data to
warrant this action. Since then, the Government has received reports from
Prospect Supported Housing, Spring Housing, policy recommendations from
Crisis, Birmingham City Council, as well as reports from multiple community
groups. All of these reports are pointing in the same direction. Yet, the
Government has still failed to act.
This is why we must see immediate action taken by Government and we must
see reform. My five demands of Government are:
1) A statutory definition of the care, support and supervision.
2) Resources for local authorities to fund inspection programmes for exempt
in their region.
3) Ensure individuals and families housed in exempt have a link to the area
they are placed.
4) Give local authorities and the social housing regulator greater
enforcement powers and strengthen the vetting process.
5) Birmingham has called for government to align existing planning and HMO
licensing policies to capture supported housing provision that is currently
exempt from licensing and give local authorities powers to reject
applications in a specific area on the grounds of oversupply.
WATCH MY FULL SPEECH HERE
WEST MIDLANDS LAUNCH PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT
On behalf of the West Midlands APPG, I was pleased to launch the planning
and infrastructure report for our region.
At a time when the Government’s planning reforms are on the horizon, it
was the ideal time to consider what can be done differently. While the
country has begun to build back after a difficult couple of years, we’re
presented with a unique opportunity to pursue a post-covid world that
serves our residents better than it did before.
Part of making the West Midlands a thriving place to live and work means
fully understanding what the region needs in terms of housing,
infrastructure and business growth. This report has given us a huge amount
of insight into what businesses and residents within the region need from
planning powers to be able to deliver for our population and I would like
to thank all those that contributed to it.
The findings of the report show there is clear support for more strategic
planning powers for the region and moving forwards, strategic planning will
be key to ensuring that the West Midlands secures new infrastructure and
sufficient land for housing and jobs in the most appropriate locations.
JOIN ME IN ERDINGTON TO ELECT PAULETTE HAMILTON
On Thursday 3rd March the by-election will be taking place in Erdington.
This is our opportunity to show our solidarity with the people of Erdington
and ensure they get an MP to build on the legacy the late Jack Dromey
started.
Erdington needs someone who will fight their causes in Parliament and be a
true representative, serving their community. I can’t think of anyone
better than Paulette Hamilton. Having lived with her family in Erdington
for over 35 years she knows and understands the constituency. For the past
six years she has worked tirelessly in her role as Cabinet Member for
Health and Social Care. And, during the pandemic, not only did she lead
Birmingham’s response, but she demonstrated real leadership by returning
to nursing where she had previously worked for 25 years.
I have joined Paulette several times in Erdington, offering my support and
campaigning alongside her. On Thursday 3rd March I will once again be
backing Paulette and working hard to ensure we get out the vote in
Erdington.
I will be joining Paulette from 12pm next Thursday and it would be
fantastic to see as many of our brilliant Edgbaston Labour members and
supporters in Erdington. I look forward to seeing many of you there, so
that we get the Labour MP for Erdington we need!
© 2020 Printed from an email sent by Preet Kaur Gill. Promoted by A.J Webb
on behalf of Preet Kaur Gill, both at 56 Wentworth Road, B17 9TA.
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